KL Desk

Jammu

Against annual target of Rs 6094.50 crore for 3,54,302 beneficiaries under Priority Sector, banks operating in J&K state have extended credit  facilities aggregating Rs.2,403.08 crore in favour of 1,60,204 beneficiaries during the first six months of the CFY ended September 30, 2012, thereby registering achievement of 39 per cent.

This was revealed by Mushtaq Ahmad, chairman & CEO, J&K Bank (convener J&K SLBC), at the 87th meeting of J&K State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) held at ITC Hotel, Fortune Inn, Riviera on Monday, while presenting a review report on performance of banks in the State for the six months ended September 30, 2012.

Among all the banks operating in state, J&K bank alone has disbursed Rs.1,566.31 crore against target of Rs.3,123.22 crore, thereby achieving 50 per cent  of the target under Annual Credit Plan. This accounts for 65 per cent of the total priority sector credit disbursed by all banks in the State.

Presiding the meeting, chief secretary Madhav Lal in his presidential address stressed the need for a greater cooperation between the government departments and the financial institutions operating in the state for achieving better results.

Taking a strong note of the slackness in issuance of Kissan Credit Cards (KCCs) and non-achievement of the target of 100 per cent coverage of farmers under KCC Scheme by September 30, 2012, chief secretary directed commissioner / secretary, agriculture production department and other functionaries to organize camps in different villages for issuance of KCCs by banks.

He directed that deputy commissioners should ensure to visit these camps and Gram Panchayats should also be taken on board, so that the target of 100 per cent coverage under KCC is achieved during the CFY.

On reviewing the position that PNB, SBI and other banks which had not achieved any progress in real terms, the chief secretary while rejecting their arguments directed them to complete the targets within the prescribed timelines for opening of accounts, delivery of banking services and enabling Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) as per the government directives without further delay.

Chief secretary impressed upon the banks and other concerned functionaries to take concrete steps to ensure that the Credit Deposit Ratio of 40 per cent is achieved by the end of March, 2013 as advised by the Governor, RBI during his visit to the State.

Chairman & CEO J&K Bank, while reviewing sector-wise performance of banks stated that under agriculture sector banks have extended credit facilities aggregating Rs.1,038.63 crore to 1,09,334 beneficiaries up to  September 30,  2012 against target of Rs.1,771.85 crore favoring 2,10,675 beneficiaries, registering achievement of 59 per cent.

Commenting on the performance of banks under government sponsored schemes in the state, chairman and CEO J&K Bank stated that under five major government sponsored schemes, viz. NRLM (SGSY), PMEGP, JKSES, SJSRY and SC/ST/OBC, banks have disbursed an amount of Rs.71.79 crore in favour of 4,608 beneficiaries in all the three regions of the state against the annual target of Rs.411.75 crore for 27,475 beneficiaries, thereby recording performance of 17 per cent of the target in financial as well as physical terms.

Chairman observed that the performance of banks under this segment has not been satisfactory. However, considering the seriousness of banks as well as the state government in creation of employment generation opportunities chairman observed that the performance is expected to show substantial improvement during the remaining months of the CFY.
Mushtaq stated that the banks have been playing a significant role in the economic revival of the state, but they continue to face difficulties in recovery of loans, particularly those disbursed under government sponsored schemes. He stated that importance of recovery of bank dues for recycling of funds needs no emphasis.

Regarding Credit Deposit Ratio, Mushtaq commented that CD Ratio of banks in the state as on September 30, 2012 stood at 36.53 per cent compared to 35.75 per cent as on September 30, 2011 indicating a marginal increase of 0.78 per cent.
Mushtaq emphasized that state government should come forward with measures, which would enable banks to recover their over dues expeditiously and take necessary steps for removing the disabling factors to facilitate loan recovery and creating a responsive credit climate by legislating SARFAESI Act, which would help banks / financial institutions operating in the State to improve debt recovery from the defaulting borrowers.

On behalf of the banking fraternity chairman & CEO J&K bank assured that there would be no let up in their efforts in implementing the government sponsored programs  aimed at poverty alleviation and fighting the menace of un-employment confronting the State.

The forum decided to chalk out strategy for streamlining the mechanism of release of subsidy in respect of Government Sponsored Schemes, so as to ensure that flow of credit under these schemes is streamlined and improved.

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